


Within

by Chokiba



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2013-05-09
Packaged: 2017-11-19 01:47:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chokiba/pseuds/Chokiba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life with the X-Men has always been complicated. But when Wolverine comes back from Europe with a man named Jamie who looks just like him, it is just the beginning. With two almost exact copies for the dangerous mutant, young Joshua Foley finds himself given the purpose of not only studying the two men but of being their keeper as well. That is until a new mutant is found who needs guidance from both me. A young woman who is both frank and wholly innocent. A woman that they both could learn to love in their own way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I would like it noted before hand that I have taken the Xavier Protocols and done with them as I will. I do give a legitimate explanation for things that happen as time goes on (well maybe not the timeline but who doesn't mess with that?). I just wanted to warn anyone and everyone of that. And to say that this was inspired by a conversation that I saw on notalwaysromantic.com.

_Schwarzwald, Germany_

He woke up to something nudging his arm.

He tried to talk only to have it devolve into a fit of coughing. His throat was drier than it ever had been in his living memory. And that was saying something considering the places he had lived and the things he had done there. Closing his mouth, he summoned up as much saliva as he could manage before swallowing and pushing himself up and the thing away.

A whimper caught his attention.

Turning he felt his heart actually stutter at the sight that met his eyes. He took a deep breath of the air around him but found that his sight didn't deceive him. He was looking at himself, but not quite. There was something very different about this version of himself. The eyes that looked at him weren't worn or even lined in rings from lack of sleep. The eyes that watched him were innocent and bright.

They were also void of any form of bitterness.

"What the hell?" he asked pushing himself up. The copy of him looked up at him from where it was squatted on the ground leaning heavily on the balls of its feet. It even wore the same clothes as he had before...what had happened?

A cold breeze made him jump as he realized that the copy before him was actually wearing his clothes, not just a copy of them. Closing his eyes, he tried to bring back the memories that were trying to slip away from him. He needed to know what had happened that would have caused this or could have even made him dream this kind of thing.

The memory of something severing his neck jolted him. That was enough to remind him exactly what had happened. Reaching up, he rubbed his neck and eyed the copy dubiously. "Damn," he muttered. "Do you even talk?"

The double titled it's head to the side watching him curiously.

"Great," he muttered shaking his head. "Want to at least loan me my own coat?" he growled. The double moved forward stumbling into his leg before rubbing its head against him. He rolled his eyes and reached down and carefully extracted the trench coat from around the copy's shoulders even as it tried to play with him. "You're like an overgrown puppy!" he scolded as he finally managed to get the coat and put it on.

The double continued to smile up at him. If it had been a dog it's tail probably would have been wagging excitedly.

"Come on genius," he ordered a little sharply. "We've got a long way to go. The professor's not gonna believe this."


	2. Black On Gold

_Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, New York_

Joshua stared down at the black blob that was currently floating around his wrist lost somewhere in his memories. He had to say that despite his powers, being a mutant generally had a tendency to suck. At the age of nineteen, Joshua had saved and seen more lives lost than should have been legal. He had also taken a life. The thought still made him sick and the black blob on his arm was a constant reminder of the horrible thing he had done in a fit of rage.

A part of him couldn't help but feel that the world was better off without Stryker in it, but that didn't change the fact that he had done it. He had used his wonderful gift for something so dark and twisted that it seemed to have left a visible mark on his soul. And there was nothing he could do to turn back time. Even if he could, he honestly wasn't sure what he would do. He had relieved that moment so many times in his mind and it always seemed like some inevitable end.

He always killed Stryker with his power.

A shudder ran down his spine. Thinking about it only made it worse. But he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it either. Even now as he was working with Hank and learning about how to properly heal people, his mind always went back to that day and the terrible things that he did.

He jumped and bit his lip hard to keep back a cry as a hand touched his shoulder. Turning, he looked up to see Hank McCoy looking down at him. "Um, hey Hank," he managed a weak smile as he looked up at the older man. Much like Joshua, Hank could never fit in with normal people. The blue fur tended to put people off for some reason. Joshua usually barely even noticed it now.

"The professor and I would like to see you up in his office. We have an assignment for you," Hank said with a note of pride in his voice.

Joshua looked at the other man warily. "An assignment?" he asked cautiously. "What kind of project?"

"Come," Hank insisted. "Logan's back. We'll explain everything once you've heard his story. And what a story it is!" The man was absolutely fascinated by it if his happy cry was anything to judge his mood by.

Joshua just stared at Hank for a moment in shock before he scrambled to his feet. "Logan's back?" He was more than a little shocked. He still remembered how Logan had tried to stop him that day so long ago. At least it seemed like a long time ago. In all actuality, according to his own time line at least, it had only been about a month. Then again that was what happened when you had a bad habit of going into comas. Hank started to move down the hall without him. Joshua ran after the older man trying to pry more out of him.

Instead, he found that Hank seemed to be quite content to keep whatever information he had a secret. Joshua finally gave up. It wasn't worth it. Besides, he would find out what this was all about soon enough. And with that thought in mind, he moved into the Professor's office and managed to smile at the sight of Wolverine, a smile that faltered when he realized that there were two of them. "I-I don't understand," Joshua said looking to the Professor for answers.

"Logan why don't you explain your story once more please?"

The Canadian gave Charles a hard look to which the man simply replied with a raised eyebrow. Logan sighed, shaking his head before he turned to Josh. "You weren't there the day I left, but you heard about it. After I moved around. Kitty, asked me to look into some things for her in Scotland. After, I moved around Europe for a while. While I was in Germany, I had a run-in with a man named Donald Pierce. Have you heard of him?"

Joshua nodded slowly unable to look up at Logan.

Logan rubbed his temples. "Than you know how he feels about us," Logan spoke quietly. "He decided that it was my turn." Joshua stared at Logan blankly. He honestly couldn't see where this was all going. What could Pierce, of all people, have to do with whoever the double was in the room? Unless Pierce was the double. Looking at it, Josh quickly negated that thought. No, the other Logan was too...sweet looking if there was any other way to say it. And there was no way that Pierce would be just sitting there quietly doing...nothing.

"He cut off my head."

The words stopped every thought and feeling that had been going through Joshua up until that moment. He was fairly certain he might have even forgotten to breath. His mind understood the words, but he couldn't process them. The words simply lost all sense once they were stringed together in a complete sentence.

A hand shoved him back against his chair and he found himself looking up into old eyes. "I'm not dead," Logan pointed out quietly.

"You should be with that story!" Joshua snapped shooting up and stalking over towards one of the several windows that dotted the room. "And whose that? Your clone!"

Logan crossed his arms over his chest and made a rude noise. "Yeah he could pass for that couldn't he?" Logan asked shaking his head. "But he's not...exactly. He's me Josh. When Pierce cut off my head, a cheap shot mind you," he growled daring anyone to argue that, "Jamie grew from my body."

He still couldn't believe that. Joshua heard the words, but he just couldn't understand how it was possible. "You realize that shouldn't be possible, even for your powers Logan. Professor..."

Charles held up a hand. "I know. I was just as surprised as you when I first heard the tale Joshua. But I've also looked into Logan's mind. It happened. I don't know how. I cannot even begin to explain it or imagine how it could be possible, but it happened. And that is where you come in."

"Me?" Josh asked, turning from the window to look between the four other men. One of them had to let on something, didn't they?

The Professor nodded. "Yes. Hank and I would like you to watch out for Jamie and Logan-" a snort from the latter greeted the idea "-and help them settle back in. There have been a lot of changes around here. You know that better than anyone. Besides, you're one of the only three people beyond Logan and Jamie who knows the truth and I would like to keep it that way. As far as everyone is concerned, Jamie is Logan's son, discovered while he was abroad."

"And people will buy that?"

"Are you going to give them a reason to believe otherwise?" Charles asked watching Joshua carefully. They both knew the answer to that.

Joshua sighed defeated. It looked like his days of brooding alone next to that window of his were done for now. They were finally giving him a real job. He had a feeling that it wasn't going to end well.


	3. Lunch Filler Filling

"You look way too intense," Logan grumbled as he tossed two trays onto the table. "What are you thinking Joshua?"

"Well," the young man said tilting his head to the side. "I've been...watching you and Jamie for a week now and I keep wondering...does this mean that you're actually a dog when you're mindless?" he asked.

Logan considered that as he sat down. "Maybe, better than being human half the time. At least you can count on a dog to be loyal," he pointed out patting Jamie's head as his double rubbed against him.

Joshua shook his head and started into the tray he had grabbed several minutes before. It had been a week since Logan had returned and Josh was still trying to figure everything out when it came to the two men. What he did know for sure was that Logan hadn't lied. Jamie was Logan completely and totally. The only thing that he could find that differed were their minds, the synapses themselves were utterly different. It was as if they only shared a duplication of DNA like true clones.

The meal progressed in silence as the three men took a break from today's round of training and human lessons for Jamie. Though Joshua was starting to wonder if the lessons had any point at all. Jamie seemed quite content to continue his half-human half-animal behaviors and no one else, for some reason which he was still trying to understand, seemed to mind.

"I think Jamie should choose what we do next," Joshua said as he stared down at the last few bites on his plate.

His golden eyes flicked up to pin brown ones and he found himself rather unsettled by the grin on Jamie's face. He had a feeling that whatever the little hellion had in mind was probably not going to end well for him.

Logan chuckled. "Jamie wants another go in the danger room," Logan explained shaking his head and smiling.

"One problem with that," Joshua said holding up a finger. "Forge doesn't want Jamie anywhere near his baby after the whole debacle two days ago."

Logan snorted and Jamie pouted. "He didn't do any real damage," Logan insisted. "Forge just needs to stop being so overprotective of his toys."

Josh sighed. "Overprotective or not, we need to give him a few more days to cool down," he insisted shaking his head. "Come on, there has got to be something else that you would wanna do."

The two men looked at each other and Joshua had the profound feeling that he was being left out of a very intense conversation. He wondered if it was possible to find a psychic link between the two men. He would have to ask one of the resident psychics if they could figure it out.

"You know, we could always just go for a walk," Joshua pointed out. "Jamie still has to get familiar with the rest of the school grounds after all. Besides, I have a feeling you two were leaning towards sparring and I have no interest in that thank you very much."

Jamie made a dark sound that resembled chuckling, a lot like chuckling. "You sure you're not psychic Josh?" Logan asked, a smile curling the corner of his mouth.

Joshua decided it was best to leave that question alone for the time being. "We can even work on Jamie's lessons while we walk. He's going to have to learn to talk at some point you guys realize."

A very clear snort came from the animal-like double. It was very clear to Josh that Jamie was smarter than he let on, but how much smarter, he had yet to actually figure out. And if Jamie had his way, the healer probably never would. It was a true battle of wills and unfortunately for Josh, it was two on one.

It didn't mean he was going to give up, it just made it that much more difficult.

A soft puff sounded behind him and Josh turned to smile up at Kurt. "Any chance you could help me win this argument?" he asked with a hopeful look.

"Argument?" the German asked looking between the three men. Kurt shook his head. "There is no time for that now," he insisted. "The Professor would like to see us," he explained.

Jamie and Logan looked at each other, Logan muttering quietly to the other before pausing and then nodding. "Lead the way," the man said, pushing himself up from the table. Much like the dog he pretended to be, Jamie jumped down from his chair and crouched patiently at Logan's side, waiting to be shown the way.

"Did he say what it was about by any chance?" Josh asked as he stood. He had to give the manor credit in one area: there was never a dull moment. Though, that wasn't always a good thing when he thought about it. Sometimes a little peace and quiet was what they really needed. It was, however, rarely what they got.

Kurt shook his head. Josh wasn't really that surprised, he was just hoping that there might be a hint of what would soon come. "Come on then guys. We shouldn't keep the professor waiting."


	4. Meeting for a Mission

Hank, Piotr, and Ororo were the only ones in the Professor's office when they arrived. Logan looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Chuck?"

"He's just getting the last member of our little get together," Hank explained leaning back in his chair. Kurt and Joshua strode over to one part of the room and took seats "Until then, I'd like to hear about this travesty that Forge was lamenting earlier."

Joshua groaned and pressed a hand to his face, the black smudge standing out on the back of it as Logan and Jamie laughed. "You did it, you explain it," Josh insisted.

Logan shrugged. "Jamie might have forgotten to stop when a simulation ended. And he may have found his way into the control room where he thought that Forge and the panels were actually chew toys."

A wicked grin curved Jamie's lips while the other four people sighed heavily. "And here I thought Forge was exaggerating when he said something tried to eat the danger room," Hank said shaking his head. "Did you at least patch him up Joshua?"

The golden boy snorted. "Yes and he whined the whole time. You would have thought he was dying form the way he went on."

"The Danger Room is very precious to Forge. Perhaps you should apologize for your attack," Ororo suggested as she leaned back and looked between Jamie and Logan who both at least had the decency to flush a pale shade of red as they looked away.

An awkward silence grew in the room as the six mutants found themselves with no change of conversation to ease the tension that their last conversation had created. The door opened several minutes later, saving them from themselves and bringing in Rogue. Charles Xavier looked around the room with a gentle smile. "I am glad to see that you are all here," he greeted the room as Anna Marie closed the door behind him and moved to lean against one of the window frames.

"So what's the deal Chuck?" Logan asked crossing his arms and planting himself firmly at the back of the room. "You don't usually call group therapy meetings."

Charles moved his chair forward until he had placed himself at his desk. He pulled up a map of a small portion of Pennsylvania, a dot stuck in what had to be the middle of nowhere. "That is Neudorf, Pennsylvania. It is home to a population of about 234 people. However, very recently, there has been a surge of MRD activity in the area. I used Cerebro and finally managed to pinpoint the location. It's a little farmhouse situated just South of the town surrounded by... well," The professor gestured to the map as it zoomed into the area. The house was literally surrounded by dirt and concrete.

Joshua leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You think there's a mutant in that house and the MRD somehow found out about him or her," Joshua said. "Alright, but why call all of us here?"

"To assist our fellow mutant of course," Charles said easily. "Because of the MRD presence, I feel it best that more than two or three people be sent in. Hank has been given instructions as to the running of the school during my absence though I should hope we won't meet with too many troubles on the way."

"You're coming?" Logan asked surprised.

"Of course," Charles replied. "I have my reasons Logan. I want Rogue and Storm to cover us from the air. Jamie will be staying in the car with me. Kurt, you, Piotr, and Logan will be going to the door and speaking with the family."

Logan nodded in understanding. Now it made perfect sense for the professor to come. Someone had to keep the humans from realizing just who they were talking to. "Than I finally get a free day?" Joshua asked hopefully.

Charles gave the younger male an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but no Joshua. We don't know what state this mutant will be in when we find him or her. I know very little about the situation honestly and because of that I don't want to take any chances. But you won't have to babysit Jamie or Logan if that's what you mean."

Joshua considered that for a moment before shrugging. It was good enough for him. You had to take what you could get and since he hadn't been given the opportunity to not worry about the two men in front of him, he rather liked the thought of a day of only having to worry about himself...for a few hours.

"When are you wantin' us to leave?" Rogue finally spoke up. Joshua had almost forgotten that the rather temperamental woman was still in the room.

"Two hours," Charles said with a nod. "That should give you all enough time to get ready." He surveyed them all and was glad to see that there was no dissension. They would likely have enough to work through without arguing amongst themselves. "I'll see you all downstairs at three. Though, Ororo, if you could stay for a moment. I'd like to speak with you."


	5. A Little Advice

As the rather large group left the Professor's office, Hank put a hand on Joshua's shoulder. The young man stopped and threw him a questioning glance. Hank simply smiled his reply. "Kurt, why don't you help Logan and Jamie. I'd like to have a conversation with our young friend here," he confessed. There was a visible look of relief on Joshua's face as Logan rolled his eyes and continued on. Kurt moved off with the identical men while Piotr and Rogue had long since vanished to make their own preparations.

"Thank you," Joshua said managing a smile.

Hank waved a dismissive hand and started to walk off. "Now, we haven't had the chance to talk since you started taking care of Jamie and Logan and I wanted to know what you thought."

The young man bit back a groan and Hank couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Now, now," he chided gently. "It can't be as bad as all of that now can it?"

Joshua shrugged. "Honestly, I have nothing against Logan or Jamie," he admitted. "They're both great guys in their own right after all. It's just that they drive me a little crazy."

"Spending an inordinate amount of time with people can do that to you," Hank said. "That is probably why families hate and love each other so much."

Joshua felt a smile touch his lips. "You're right," he agreed. "Of course you're right. So would that make Logan that favorite uncle that drives your parents crazy and Jamie the baby cousin that you can't help but wonder about?"

Hank threw his head back and laughed as they moved into his lab which was, at the moment, blissfully empty. "Now, what have you learned?"

He had known this would be coming and honestly, he was rather excited for the conversation. "I know that I keep complaining, but actually, the few times that I have actually gotten to examine them it's been... fascinating to say the least. They're the same. Biologically they are replicas of each other. Of course Jamie's mind is under developed. It's still creating synapses just like a newborn baby but his body has all the muscle memory and development of a full-grown man. Logan is just the opposite. It's as if one grew from the body and the other from the head."

"Which should not be possible," Hank mused. "What else?"

Joshua turned thoughtful. "Well, I started to look at the cells themselves," he admitted. "I try to do it when they're sleeping because I always get the feeling that they both think that what I'm doing is intrusive." His eyes flicked up to judge Hank's reaction and the man half-shrugged, half-nodded. "Their cells are... different. It's something in the code itself. Something in what makes them the kind of mutant that they are. I'm not sure how to explain it. It's almost as if the code to heal is governed by each individual cell, not by the brain like one would think."

Hank arched an eyebrow and leaned forward, studying Joshua carefully. "If your theory is correct, it could make for some rather intriguing problems wouldn't it?" the scientist mused.

"I'm going to tell the professor when we get back."

"Yes," Hank agreed. They would have enough to think about during this little mission without adding Joshua's theories to the mix. "Do you think you will be able to handle this new... responsibility that the professor has asked of you."

The young man flinched a little. "I won't have to babysit this one.. hopefully," he granted with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean that I'm looking forward to it. I'm still trying to figure out myself and then I have my two projects and now this one?"

"Is it too much for you?" Hank asked.

Joshua sighed heavily. "No," he grumbled. "I'm just complaining." He pouted and crossed her arms over his chest as he looked away. "How do you handle it Hank?" he couldn't help but ask. "How can you handle all of the pressure? Everyone wants so much from you. And yet, you're always so calm and so... understanding."

"Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes. It's a natural part of life Joshua. You simply have to find what can calm and relax you. What can help you through those hard and stressful times."

Joshua frowned. "So... you want me to find a hobby?" he asked. He sat down and steepled his fingers, as he considered that. "I haven't done something like that since... well, before I knew I was a mutant," he admitted.

Hank nodded firmly, a bright smile overtaking his face. "There you have it than!"


	6. Into the Attic

The green fields of Pennsylvania gave way to dirt and concrete about a half-mile away from their destination. It was a two story house that could have looked normal if not for the aura of darkness around it. It was as if everyone who thought of the place believed it was cursed and that the house now exemplified what they all thought of it.

"Does anyone else feel like we're driving into a horror movie?" Logan asked from the front seat.

Piotr let out a laugh as he shook his head. "I would not say that. It actually reminds me a little of home."

Logan looked back at Josh and the young man shook his head, refusing to comment. It was nice to have such a light mood when they all knew what they could be walking into. Josh honestly just wanted this mission to be over. He wasn't sure why he felt so anxious about it. The feeling had started during their flight down and had been growing the more that they drove.

He had been fine when they had left. The talk with Hank had actually done a lot of good. But now that didn't seem to matter anymore. It was as if the talk had done him no good whatsoever. Or maybe the realizations that the talk had thrust on him were now just sinking in.

Joshua Foley had no life.

The thought made him grimace internally. At least he had something else to focus on. Even as he had been lost in dark thoughts that he honestly didn't need to delve into at the moment, they had pulled in front of the house. A boy in his teens leaned against the rails of one of the supports while a girl a few years younger than him, peeked from out behind him as if she was a little afraid of these newcomers.

Joshua got out of the car with Kurt, Piotr, and Logan leaving Jamie behind with the Professor. The fact that neither child was freaking out said that they had either dealt with mutants before, or that the professor was making them see he and Kurt as normal. Joshua was more inclined to believe it was the later rather than the former.

Kurt led the way up to the house. The little girl scampered inside. Joshua looked over at Logan only to have the man nudge him forward until he was walking next to Kurt, something he would talk to the older man about later.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and Kurt smiled up at the boy. "Good Afternoon my son," he greeted brightly. "My name is Father Kurt Wagner."

"And what can we do for you Father?" The man who stood in the doorway looked like he was in his early fifties, his eyes warily surveying the group before him.

Kurt moved onto the top stair and continued to smile. "As I said, I am Father Kurt Wagner. I was recently relocated to the area and heard of your troubles. I came to see if I might offer aid."

The wary eyes turned sharp as if they sought out any untruth or ulterior motives. Joshua forced himself to keep watching the man. He couldn't help but think that the worst thing he could do at the moment was look away.

"And your companions?" the man asked. "They are necessary to this aid?"

Yes, they are," Kurt assured the man. "Now, please, I would like to hear the story from you."

There was silence for several moments. Finally the man sighed. "Come inside then," he insisted as he stepped aside and gestured for the group to join him in the house. The man led them into a small living room which Logan and Piotr seemed to dominate as they stood behind the couch where Kurt and Joshua sat.

"My name is Eli Beiler. Forty-five years ago, I had a sister, she was a few years older than myself. My family, we were all very close. But one day, she started to act very strange. She would not tell us why. And so I was charged with following her to discover the secret that she seemed so unwilling to exchange with us. I saw her speak to nothing and then the plants began to move around her. They started to move against her as if she could control them. It was then that I knew she was a demon. There was no doubt in my mind and I told my parents. When she came home, my parents took it up to the attic and came back down alone. We have not allowed it out since. We feed it of course. At first we hoped that the thing would leave my sister and that we would be able to let her out, but we were never so fortunate."

Joshua could feel the tension in Logan behind him. He didn't have to look back to see that the man was furious. But given the fact that he wasn't already jumping down the man's throat or strangling him, either Piotr was holding him back or he was exercising self-control. Honestly, Joshua wasn't sure which. His eyes flicked over to Kurt who appeared thoughtful as he nodded slowly. "Yes," the priest murmured. "Of course you did. You did the only thing you knew to do. God does not blame you, my son."

God might not blame the man, but Joshua sure as hell did. How could they have been so blind? Why would a demon choose plants to control? It was absurd. But he refused to say anything. He couldn't even bring himself to look up at the family that sat across from them because he knew that he would say something that he would regret. No, Kurt had to handle this. He was doing pretty good so far after all.

"I would like to see this one," Kurt continued leaning forward. "And I would, as I said, do what I can. I specialize in demons. I have had my own experiences with them and God guided my hand to study them to do what I can to expel them from the world in anyway possible."

It took all the Joshua had in him not to flinch at those words. He watched Kurt out of the corner of his eyes and honestly couldn't decide if the German was lying or not. That thought scared him. He knew that he wasn't very close to Kurt and it made him wonder now if he should change that or not. It might be rather interesting to know exactly what Kurt's history was. At least then maybe he could understand why the man had said that.

Eli spoke up again, though Joshua didn't catch what he said as he was brought back to reality. Instead he stood up, just like Kurt was, keeping his head bowed even as he did. "I thank you for this chance Herr Beiler," Kurt said with a gentle smile. "I will not ask you to accompany us into the attic," he assured the man. "Merely to show us the way."

"Michael," Eli called. The teenage boy from outside moved into the house looking towards his father though Joshua could almost feel the boy's curiosity. The young mutant was surprised the boy hadn't been eavesdropping. Joshua knew that he would have himself. Maybe their world really was that much different. After all, they had been able to lock a girl away for some forty or fifty years without a thought of it.

No, she wouldn't be a girl anymore. She would be an older woman by now. More likely old simply from what her body had experienced and the lack of experiences it had not seen that it should have. Shaking his head, he dispelled the thoughts that he knew the wouldn't be able to find answers for even as Michael began to lead them towards a set of stairs. Kurt led the way, still smiling while the other three mutants followed him. Joshua didn't dare look up until they had made it to the door of the attic where something like a locked doggie door explained how they got food to her. The boy was holding out a key to Kurt, his hand shaking. "I dare...I cannot go any further," the boy said shaking his head.

Kurt's smile truly was kind now, no act as he rested his hand on the boy's head. "Go my child," he murmured. "We shall be just fine on our own," he vowed. The boy nodded eagerly and bolted back down the stair, having lost all fear of being disrespectful to the priest and his companions.

Joshua looked back up at Kurt and sighed. "You ready?" he asked. None of them were sure what they were actually going to see and as Kurt turned towards the door and slipped the key into the tiny lock, Joshua took a deep breath. A moment later, as the door swung open, he was more than just a little glad that he had.

The smell that accosted the small group was almost overwhelming. It was a smell that was hard to describe and something that Joshua didn't even want to think about a he tried to force small, shallow breath between his teeth as he brought his shirt up to cover his nose. He heard a shuffle and turned to see that Logan was torn between fury and horror even as Colossus held onto his shirt. "Don't go Logan," he said. "We might need your help."

Logan glared up at Piotr before he sighed and shoved past the rest of them to enter the room first. The other three exchanged a look before they sighed and followed him inside. They had to see what they were dealing with after all. Though how anyone could survive living up in an attic, especially one that smelled like this, for any amount of time was utterly beyond Joshua. Likely the girl was dead. the woman had probably died recently and that was what that little bit of power had been, the last spark of her life. But no, he couldn't doubt the professor. The man wouldn't have brought them here for a dead woman. At least he couldn't think that the man would.

They would find out soon enough.

Joshua was actually surprised to see that there were plants in the room. Plants of several different varieties instead of a bare attic. A single window was placed high in the far wall, a small halo of light that shone down on the room as best it could. There was a soft rustling from within the small jungle and he peered into them, trying to discern what it might be.

A soft, collective, gasp went up as a small figure stepped out of the brush. Joshua hadn't been expecting this. Not in the least. The girl looked like she could be no more than twelve or thirteen. Her hair was a kind of dark gray color, thin and straggly, a lot like small dreads that fell around her dark face. She was nothing more than skin and bones. And that wasn't an exaggeration. Joshua was actually reminded a lot of the Holocaust pictures that they had shown his class in High School. There was no way that this could be the demon, the sister that Eli Beiler had locked up stairs some forty or fifty years ago. This had to be the woman's daughter which meant someone had clearly been up here.

Leaves hung around her body from wisps of what might have once upon a time been a dress that had long since started to decay around the girl. The dark dreads seemed to cover what the leaves and decayed clothes could not. If Joshua didn't know any better, he would have said she was stepping out of some African or South American Jungle and encountering civilization for the first time in her life.

She watched them with vivid green eyes, wary and uncertain as if she had never seen their like before in her life. And maybe she hadn't. After all, if his theory was correct, she had lived her whole life up in this attic. Joshua moved past Logan, who was standing, gaping at the rail thin, preteen girl and tried to walk slowly so he wouldn't startle the girl. But he didn't seem to scare her at all. Instead she continued to watch him as if she was growing more curious as to what he was planning on doing than anything. And hell, maybe she was. Joshua had no idea. He took a deep breath as he studied her and instantly regretted it as he dissolved into a fit of coughs when his lungs rejected the heavy scent of decay in the air.

There was silence for a moment before the girl started to laugh. It was a rusty sound as if she didn't ever bothered to speak, but there was no doubt it was a laugh. A laugh that was quickly cut off as a small bony hand clapped over her face, her eyes going wide as if she herself was more afraid of the sound than of the men in front of her.

"Who are you?" Joshua breathed watching her carefully.

The girl tilted her head to the side as if she was trying to process the words. A light flashed in those vivid eyes as if something had clicked in her mind and she understood. "Teufel," she whispered, the voice a soft grate even more out of use than the laugh as if she had used them once in a time beyond memory.

"Her name is Teufel?" Joshua asked looking back at Kurt.

The priest looked troubled as he shook his head. "Teufel is not her name. Teufel is the German word for demon. She thinks she's a demon."


End file.
